eCom Collab Club Podcast - The eCommerce Podcast for DTC Businesses

Paid ads in 2025 feel like a toxic relationship:
You need them…
You rely on them…
But they hurt you on a molecular level.

This week, Adam Pearce and Pete Gardner sit down with Oscar Ford, Founder of Anuncia, to break down what’s actually happening inside Google, Meta and Microsoft Ads...beyond the shiny webinars and suspiciously perfect LinkedIn screenshots.

Oscar brings 15+ years of PPC experience, £3m+ in managed annual ad spend, and more strong opinions than the platforms would like him to have.

If your CPC keeps climbing, your tracking keeps breaking and your ROAS keeps gaslighting you, this is the episode that finally explains why.

They Cover:

– Why ad costs are skyrocketing across every platform
– What caused the 2025 auction inflation (and why it’s not slowing down)
– The death of old targeting tactics
– How Google & Meta are “simplifying” ads… while making things harder
– Why tracking + clean data matter more than ever
– How product feed optimisation impacts everything
– The unsexy basics that outperform every shiny hack
– The channels that actually worked: PMax, YouTube Shorts, TikTok, Amazon Ads
– The signals that tell you an account is on the edge of disaster
– What Oscar would do if he had just £1,000 to grow a brand

This is the PPC episode brands needed six months ago.

About the Guest

Oscar Ford, Founder of Anuncia, is a PPC specialist of 15+ years managing millions in annual ad spend for ambitious UK eCommerce brands and charities.
An expert in tracking, feed optimisation, analytics, and calling out bad platform advice.

About the Hosts

Adam Pearce and Peter Gardner, co-founders of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club®, helping operators grow without losing their sanity, their margins, or their will to live.

Work with Blend

Need your store to convert like your margins depend on it?
Book a free “Metric on Fire” diagnostic:
👉 https://blendcommerce.com/pages/metric-on-fire

#eCommerce #PaidAds #PPC #MetaAds #GoogleAds #DigitalMarketing #Shopify #eComCollabClub #BlendCommerce

Brands love to say they’re “going international.”
Cool. Cute.
But as George Bland from Airwallex will tell you, global expansion is less passport stamps and more surprise FX fees + late-night logistics panic.

This week, Adam and Pete sit down with George Bland, Agency Partnerships Manager at Airwallex, to pull back the curtain on what really happens when a brand decides to sell beyond its borders...and how to stop your margins leaking faster than your sanity.

If “international expansion” is anywhere near your 2026 roadmap, consider this episode mandatory listening.

They cover:

– How to pick the right markets (not just the shiny ones)– FX leakage — the silent profit killer– Payments, tax, and compliance: what you absolutely cannot afford to wing– Cross-border logistics and the ops mistakes brands keep repeating– How to prep your business for global scale without setting fire to your margins– The real cost of going global — and how to do it sustainably

This is the stuff most founders learn the hard (and expensive) way. George is here to save you from that.

About the Guest

George Bland, Agency Partnerships Manager at Airwallex, has spent 7+ years in payments and cross-border eCommerce (Klarna, Airwallex), helping brands and agencies access new global markets without triggering a financial meltdown.

About the Hosts

Adam Pearce and Pete Gardner, co-founders of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club®, known for turning eCommerce chaos into conversations that are actually fun to listen to.

Work with Blend

Need your store to convert like your margins depend on it?

Book a free “Metric on Fire” diagnostic:
👉 https://blendcommerce.com/pages/metric-on-fire

#eCommerce #InternationalExpansion #CrossBorderCommerce #GlobalGrowth #Payments #Shopify #eComCollabClub #BlendCommerce

The world’s in chaos. Ad costs are climbing, margins are vanishing and someone in finance just used the word “reforecast” again.

So this week, Pete flies solo with Joseph Aubry, CEO of Loyoly.io, to talk about how brands can survive (and thrive) when the markets are wobbling, consumers are twitchy and retention is the only real growth hack left.

Because let’s face it — in 2025, keeping your customers might be the boldest move of all.

They cover

– Why loyalty is your best defence against rising CAC– What “global market challenges” actually mean for operators– How to scale sustainably when budgets are tight– Turning community, social proof, and post-purchase engagement into growth– Why retention > panic – every time

If you’ve ever found yourself praying your customers don’t ghost you after checkout, this one’s your new playbook.

About the Guest

Joseph Aubry, CEO of Loyoly.io, is helping brands turn customers into advocates. Loyoly’s post-purchase engagement platform connects loyalty, community and UGC to keep customers coming back and buying more.

About the Host

Pete Gardner, Co-founder of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club® — known for his strong opinions, weak filter, and ability to make retention chat actually entertaining.

Work with Blend

Need your store to convert like your margins depend on it?
Book a free “Metric on Fire” diagnostic:
👉 https://blendcommerce.com/pages/metric-on-fire

#eCommerce #Loyalty #CustomerRetention #SustainableGrowth #Shopify #eComCollabClub #BlendCommerce

Everyone loves to talk about growth. That is until the numbers stop making sense, the ad budget starts to cry and your “scaling strategy” turns into a stress dream...

This week, Adam and Pete are joined by Paul Fernandez, Co-founder of The Growth Guys, to dig into The Real Anatomy of eCom Growth. A.k.a. what it actually takes to scale a brand without losing your mind (or your margins).

Paul breaks down his HEAD and HEART frameworks: the method behind sustainable growth that blends strategy, emotion and execution without all the fluff.

They Cover:

– Why “growth at all costs” usually ends up costing you everything– How to stop mistaking activity for actual progress– What the best operators measure (hint: it’s not just ROAS)– How to scale profitably without frying your team’s brains– The role of emotion, focus, and process in real growth

This one’s for the operators who are tired of the “just run more ads” school of growth. It’s not therapy… but it’s close.

About the Guest

Paul Fernandez, Co-founder of The Growth Guys, helps eCom brands scale sustainably with a unique blend of analysis, strategy and killer creatives; turning chaos into clarity (and maybe a few extra zeros).

About the Hosts

Adam Pearce, Co-founder of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club™️, known for his bold takes, blunt truths and love of metrics that actually matter.

Pete Gardner, Co-founder of Blend Commerce and professional stirrer of the eCom pot. Bringing stories, chaos and hard-earned wisdom from the trenches.

Need your store to convert like your margins depend on it?
Book a free “Metric on Fire” diagnostic:
👉 https://blendcommerce.com/pages/metric-on-fire

#eCommerce #GrowthStrategy #ScalingBrands #Shopify #DTCGrowth #SustainableGrowth #eComCollabClub #BlendCommerce

In this episode, Pete sits down with Dan Bond, VP of Marketing at RevLifter, to talk about everyone’s favourite panic button: discounting – and why a lot of brands are getting it spectacularly wrong.

From lazy blanket sales to smarter, data-driven incentives, Dan breaks down how to stop discounts from draining your profit, while still giving customers that sweet, sweet dopamine hit they’re looking for.

This one’s part therapy session, part masterclass in how not to ruin your margins before BFCM.

They cover:

– Why “20% off everything” isn’t a strategy (it’s a cry for help)– How to personalise incentives that actually convert– The psychology behind smarter offers (and why your customers don’t need more codes, they need reasons)– How to break your audience’s discount addiction– Turning promos into long-term profit drivers

This episode is for:
Founders, marketers and eCom operators who’ve ever hit “launch” on a site-wide sale just to make the numbers look better...and probably regretted it immediately.

If you want to make this BFCM your most profitable one yet (without giving away the shop), you’ll want to listen to this one twice.

About the Guest
Dan Bond, VP of Marketing at RevLifter — helping brands use personalised incentives and smarter promos to drive conversions without torching their margins.

About the Host
Peter Gardner, Co-founder of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club®, on a mission to help eCom brands scale sustainably with fewer discounts, fewer tears and more profit.

Work with Blend
Need your store to convert like your margins depend on it?
Book a free “Metric on Fire” diagnostic:
👉 ⁠https://blendcommerce.com/pages/metric-on-fire⁠

#eCommerce #DiscountStrategy #BFCM #Shopify #PromoCodes #Profitability #RetentionMarketing #DTCGrowth #eComCollabClub #BlendCommerce

Adam and Peter sit down with Matthew Holland, Managing Director at William Swindells Ltd, to talk about the least sexy, but most important part, of scaling a brand – money.

From Shopify Capital to PayPal Working Capital (and everything in between), Matthew breaks down what alternative financing really looks like for growing brands — minus the buzzwords and VC fluff.

William Swindells Ltd has scaled its portfolio of brands, including Hollands Country Clothing and Hollands Workwear, into a multi-million-pound business without giving away equity or losing control.

In this episode, Matthew shares how he’s kept the balance between growth and cash flow — and the financial lessons every operator needs before scaling up.

They cover:– The real cost of “growth at all costs”– How to use funding tools like Shopify and PayPal without getting burned– Why cash flow forecasting matters more than your P&L looking pretty– Balancing sustainable growth with risk and reality– Lessons from building a profitable, family-run business– How to make smarter decisions when funding feels tight

This episode is for founders and operators who want to grow their brand without selling their soul (or 40% of their company).

If you’ve ever stared at your bank balance mid-scale-up and thought “oh sh*t,” this one’s for you.

About the Guest
Matthew Holland, Managing Director of William Swindells Ltd, a family-run retailer turned eCommerce powerhouse. Matthew has grown the business sustainably through smart financing and operational discipline — no venture capital required.

About the Hosts
Adam Pearce, Co-founder of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club®, CRO specialist and professional chaos-stirrer.

Peter Gardner, Co-founder of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club®, obsessed with what actually works in eCommerce.

Work with Blend
Need your store to convert like your margins depend on it?
Book a free “Metric on Fire” diagnostic:
👉 ⁠https://blendcommerce.com/pages/metric-on-fire⁠

#eCommerce #Scaling #Funding #CashFlow #AlternativeFinance #Shopify #DTCGrowth #eComCollabClub #BlendCommerce

In this episode, Adam and Rich sit down with Andrew Kemp, founder of Bare Kind, to talk about the unglamorous side of scaling: inventory, fulfilment and how to keep customers happy when Q4 ops chaos inevitably hits.

Bare Kind is a brand selling bamboo socks to save endangered animals – and Andrew’s taken it from packing orders at his mum’s house to scaling international fulfilment. Along the way, he’s seen the good, the bad, and the downright messy when it comes to growth.

This isn’t the polished LinkedIn version of scaling. This is what really happens when stock, couriers, and cashflow collide.

They cover:– What happens when you run ads before stock arrives– Stockouts, wrong SKUs, and the hidden costs of ops mistakes– Courier chaos & keeping CX alive when fulfilment fails– Why scaling ops feels like building the plane mid-flight– The truth about “just in time” inventory (spoiler: it’s tears)– Practical strategies to survive Q4 without torching margins (or your sanity)

This episode is for operators who know growth isn’t all champagne graphs and hockey sticks — it’s cardboard boxes, late-night stock checks, and courier emails that ruin your week.

About the Guest
Andrew Kemp, founder of Bare Kind — a brand selling bamboo socks that save endangered animals, scaling from a living-room packing station to international fulfilment.

About the Hosts
Adam Pearce, Co-founder of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club™, CRO specialist and professional chaos-stirrer.

Rich Evans, Founder of Get Better and long-time partner-in-crime at eCom Collab Club™, email and retention expert.

Work with BlendNeed your store to convert like your margins depend on it?

Book a free “Metric on Fire” diagnostic:
👉 ⁠https://blendcommerce.com/pages/metric-on-fire⁠

#eCommerce #Scaling #Ops #Inventory #Fulfilment #Q4 #BFCM #Shopify #eComCollabClub #BlendCommerce

In this episode, Pete sits down with William Ferreira, Chief Growth Officer at ThreeSixty Brands (part of Common Thread Group), to take on the eternal brand vs performance debate – and what it really means for Black Friday/Cyber Monday.

From founding and selling his first agency at just 19 (working with Virgin, Nike & Diageo) to now scaling 50+ DTC and omnichannel brands across the beauty, wellness, lifestyle and food eCom industries, William’s seen how brands win (and lose) during peak season.

Turns out this isn’t about “team brand” or “team performance.” It’s about how the two fuel each other — especially when the pressure’s on at BFCM.

They cover:
– Why “brand vs performance” is the wrong fight to pick– Driving record BFCM sales without looking cheap– Smarter promos: bundles, gated drops & gift-with-purchase plays– How partnerships & collabs stretch smaller budgets further– Building authentic communities (hint: it’s not just a Slack group)– The “one funnel, one offer” rule to simplify peak-season chaos

This episode is for operators who want to sell big at BFCM without torching margins or turning their brand into a bargain bin. If you’re tired of the “50% off everything” panic playbook, this one’s for you.

About the Guest
William Ferreira, Chief Growth Officer at ThreeSixty Brands, part of Common Thread Group. William founded and exited his first agency at 19, worked with global brands including Virgin, Nike and Diageo, and now helps 50+ DTC and omnichannel brands scale profitably across multiple categories.

About the Host
Pete Gardner, Co-founder of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club™, obsessed with what actually works in eCommerce.

Work with BlendNeed your store to convert like your margins depend on it?Book a free “Metric on Fire” diagnostic:
👉 ⁠https://blendcommerce.com/pages/metric-on-fire⁠

#eCommerce #BFCM #BlackFriday #CyberMonday #BrandBuilding #PerformanceMarketing #Shopify #DTCGrowth #eComCollabClub #BlendCommerce

In this episode, Pete and Adam sit down with Abhishek Chandra, Chief Revenue Officer at GoKwik, to dig into how WhatsApp can stop BFCM meltdowns and turn them into big money moments.

From abandoned carts piling up to customers spamming “WHERE’S MY ORDER?!”, Abhishek explains why WhatsApp beats email and live chat when Black Friday chaos hits – and how smart brands are using it to recover revenue in minutes, not days.

This isn’t theory. It’s WhatsApp in the trenches of BFCM.

They cover:– How WhatsApp recovers 20%+ of abandoned carts faster than email– Real use cases: flipping angry refund requests into repeat purchases– Bots vs humans: who should handle peak-season chaos– How to train teams to turn complaints into loyalty– Always-on WhatsApp flows that drive repeat buys year-round– Case studies of brands adding six figures via WhatsApp

This episode is for operators who are sick of abandoned cart emails being ignored, live chat collapsing mid-sale and customer support drowning under peak traffic.

If you want practical, real-world WhatsApp strategies to make BFCM less painful (and more profitable) this one’s for you.

About the Guest
Abhishek Chandra, Chief Revenue Officer at GoKwik. Abhishek helps DTC and eCommerce brands across the globe use WhatsApp to drive conversions, recover revenue, and keep customers happy...even when Black Friday traffic is breaking everything else.

About the Hosts
Pete Gardner, Co-founder of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club®, obsessed with what actually works in eCommerce.
Adam Pearce, Co-founder of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club®, professional shit-stirrer (his words) and CRO specialist.

Work with BlendNeed your store to convert like your margins depend on it?
Book a free “Metric on Fire” diagnostic:👉 ⁠https://blendcommerce.com/pages/metric-on-fire⁠

#eCommerce #BFCM #BlackFriday #CyberMonday #WhatsApp #CustomerExperience #Retention #DTCGrowth #Shopify #eComCollabClub #BlendCommerce

In this episode, Pete is joined by Yasamine Beheshti, Group Head of eCommerce at Batra Group, to chat about how global brands like Juicy Couture, FILA, Hunter Boots and Reebok plan for Black Friday/Cyber Monday – without torching margins or losing their brand magic.

From starting her career at Ralph Lauren straight out of university to running eCommerce for 7 international brands, Yasamine has seen the chaos, the curveballs and the wins of BFCM at scale.

This isn’t another “50% off everything” playbook. It’s how the big brands really do it.

They cover:– The biggest lessons Yasamine’s learned running BFCM across 7 global brands– Why blanket sitewide discounts are overrated (and what actually works)– Tactics for protecting margins while still driving volume– How to keep BFCM campaigns on-brand for premium labels like Juicy Couture– Practical plays for acquisition, retention and post-purchase flows– The most overrated vs. underrated BFCM tactics

This episode is for operators who want to win Black Friday/Cyber Monday, not just survive it. If you’re tired of cookie-cutter discounting and want to see how big brands protect their margins, build brand moments, and still drive serious revenue—this one’s for you.

About the Guest
Yasamine Beheshti, Group Head of eCommerce at Batra Group. From eCommerce Assistant at Ralph Lauren to running global brands like Juicy Couture, FILA, Hunter Boots and now Reebok, Yasamine’s been at the frontlines of BFCM strategy for nearly a decade.

About the Host
Pete Gardner, Co-founder of Blend Commerce and eCom Collab Club™, obsessed with what actually works in eCommerce.

Work with BlendNeed your store to convert like your margins depend on it?
Book a free “Metric on Fire” diagnostic:
👉 ⁠https://blendcommerce.com/pages/metric-on-fire⁠

#eCommerce #BFCM #BlackFriday #CyberMonday #JuicyCouture #FILA #Shopify #MarginProtection #DTCGrowth #eComCollabClub #BlendCommerce